Jack's Life - Oneshots
by Jack-Frost13
Summary: A series of oneshots surrounding Jack Frost and his life. They may be connected. Some chapters will be OOC
1. Chapter 1 - Nightmares

Jack Frost couldn't sleep. It had been over a week since the Guardians had defeated Pitch, but Pitch was known to be a sore loser and Jack had been suffering because of it. Terror filled his mind, dreams turned to nightmares. But he refused to tell anyone because he knew that they would make a fuss over it and that was the last thing he wanted. North would probably try to be fatherly, Tooth would be motherly, Sandy would try to give him good dreams and Bunnymund probably wouldn't care. Jack hated it when people fussed over him, so that's why he was lying in bed now, fearing the moment when he would fall asleep.

The minutes turned into hours, his lack of sleep tried to pull him down. His eyelids got heavier and he was yawning every few minutes. But he refused to go to sleep; thoughts of what would happen if he did forced him to stay up. He paced the new room North had given him, it had a huge French window with a view onto the valleys and cliffs, he often left that window open (much to the annoyance of the elves) because the cold was comforting, along with it letting him soar outside and then come back quickly. The moon was full tonight; bathing the floor in a silvery glow which made it look like a frozen lake.

Jack thought about wandering the halls, maybe North would be awake in his workshop. Jack remembered how North had told him he was always welcome to stay over anytime he wanted and for as long as he wanted. The hidden message was rather obvious; North wanted him to stay for good. Jack couldn't stay though, he loved the outdoors too much, he loved travelling and bringing snow and frost to the cities of the world. He loved watching the children laugh and smile when he brought a snow day to their town; he loved that he could contribute to their snowball fights. He was certain that being out in the world, where he longed to be, would help make the nightmares go away. So Jack had decided that he would leave within the week. He didn't really have a reason to stay, but he thought that it would be a little too mean to leave so soon, especially after all they had been through together.

Jack sat down on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair, he might be immortal but his body still needed rest. But he was afraid, afraid of what he would see if he fell asleep. He fell backwards onto the bed. 'To sleep or not to sleep?' he thought. After much more inner turmoil his body got the better of him. His eyes closed and he began to dream.

*DreamState Starts*

_"Whoo Hoo! Yeah!" Jack was almost flying up the fill, weaving through the children, chucking snowballs at random. This was the life; the icy wind rushing past his face, snow everywhere. He didn't have his staff, but he didn't need it right now, there was too much fun to be had. He slowed down to join a chain of ice skaters on a frozen lake. Whirling around with laughter and joy surrounding him, Jack laughed along with everybody else. The leader suddenly lost their balance and they all fell down, sliding in all directions. The laughter increased. Jack was the first on his feet, he moved amongst the kids and helped them to their feet. They proceeded to make another chain and start again. Jack found himself on the end of the line, clinging to the hand of the girl in front of him._

_Suddenly he lost his grip and went spinning out of control, only to end up head first into a snow bank. He could hear everyone else laughing, could feel hands grabbing at him pulling him out. Once he could see again, he found they were pulling him into another line; he was once again at the end. Then the boy in front of him let go and Jack was whirling across the ice once more. He regained his balance and looked up, there was no more laughing or smiling, all the children were gathered in a wide circle around him. They were just standing there staring at him blankly; it was starting to creep him out._

_A laugh split through that chilled air, but this was not a happy laugh, it was sharp and evil. It came from everywhere, filling his mind._

_"You didn't think I forget you, did you Jack?" His heart stopped, his breath caught in his throat and his blood froze in his veins (figuratively speaking). It was the voice from his nightmares, Pitch._

_The ice cracked beneath Jack's feet and a black pit gaped underneath him. Jack tried to fly but his powers had been shorted out. He let out a scream as he tumbled head over heels into the abyss, surrounded by mocking laughter from hundreds of invisible mouths._

_"Let the fun begin Jack..."_

_Jack landed with a crunch on very solid ground. He shot upright and spun in circles trying to figure out where he was. There was nothing, just darkness. A light flickered on in the distance, beckoning him in. Cautiously Jack edged closer; soon an object could be made out, a box, no, a cage. There was something inside, a figure. Something light brown was trickling from between the bars, sand._

_"Sandy? Is that you?" Jack crept closer, he started breathing faster, scared if it wasn't and scared if it was._

_A figure came the bars, it was Sandy, but he was more of a shadow of himself. He was a dull brown instead of his usual golden yellow, he looked worn out, like he had the weight of the word on his shoulders._

_"Sandy, what happened?" Jack rushed to the bars, and knelt before his friend. The Sandman did nothing, he just sat there staring blankly at Jack._

_"You did this to him Jack." Jack jumped, and whirled around. Pitch was right behind him accented by a dark grey glow that hovered around him._

_"What?"_

_"You did this to him, because of your stubborn behaviour I managed to capture him, now he will be mine forever. I will use his power to create terror around the globe. Your friend will suffer in torment and pain for eternity. Then I will rise again and I will not fail. The Guardians will be destroyed, or suffer the fate of the dear Sandman, and it is all your fault..."_

*DreamState Ends*

Jack shot bolt upright, his whole body was shaking. Sandy was captured, it was all his fault? Everything was his fault, it would always be his fault. He stumbled out of his bed, forcing down tears. He needed to get some fresh air, to get out of here. He staggered out the door and down the hallway, guilt welled inside of him, Sandy was hurt and suffering and it was all his fault. He leaned heavily against the wall; tears on the brink of falling.

"Hey, Frostbite! What are you doing up?"

Bunnymund found himself wandering the hallways a lot since Pitch was defeated. He didn't know why. He had been about to go to sleep but something had compelled him to get up and look around instead. A door creaked. It had to be at least 2am, but someone else was up. He followed his senses until he found hallway that lead to Jack's room, but Jack's door was ajar. After a quick peek inside he knew that Jack had been there, but wasn't anymore. He followed the corridor until a faint light of an immortal appeared, light blue against the darker hallway. It was defiantly Jack; he was slumped against the wall, trying to stagger along. There was clearly something wrong. Bunnymund felt strongly compelled to do something about it.

"Hey, Frostbite! What are you doing up?" He didn't know why he said that in particular, but it got the boys attention. Jack whirled around; he had a strange look on his face, a lost, hopeless look. Unshed tears shone in his eyes. They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other before Jack stumbled forwards and latched himself to the Easter Bunny, tears finally falling.

Bunnymund was shocked, Jack was never like this. Something serious had happened. He wrapped his arms around Jack without thinking, pulling him close. Jack was trying to talk but all that came out was a mixture of sobbing, tears and mumbling. Hands gently stroked his hair in a soothing motion. After what could have been hours, Jack began to calm down. Bunnymund noticed and took this as the time to ask and important question.

"Jack? What happened?"

It took a few moments for Jack to pull himself together.

"M-my f-f-fault, it's all my f-fault."

"What's your fault?"

"That S-Sandman's g-gone, that h-e's hurt. My f-fault he got c-captured. I was s-stupid." Jack then buried his face in Bunny's fur and sobbed.

"Jack, listen to me. Sandy's fine, he's safe. I think it was just a nightmare. Was it?"

"Be-en having n-nightmares s-since the b-battle."

Bunnymund understood now, Pitch was giving Jack nightmares on purpose. He made Jack think that his friends were in danger and that he was to blame.

"Why didn't you come to us Jack? Sandy could have given you some dust to help you sleep?"

"mmahmhadm"

"What was that?"

"I didn't want you to fuss."

Jack didn't want them to fuss, he really was thick sometimes, that was for sure. Didn't he understand that they would fuss more because he'd been keeping it a secret.

"Let's get you back to bed. I've got some of Sandy's dust left from a while back, you can have that. And don't even think about saying no."

Bunny guided Jack back to his abandoned bedroom and made sure he was lying comfortably. On an instinct he tucked the blankets up to the lads chin. Jack looked up at him, still slightly scared.

"Don't go."

It was such a simple request, but it was something that Bunnymund had never expected to hear from Jack Frost. But the same instinct that had made him tuck Jack in also told him that he had to stay, not just stay until the boy fell asleep but all through the remaining night. Bunnymund fetched a chair from the corner of the room and set it down beside the bed before seating himself in it. Jack looked comforted by this but still uneasy. So the Easter Bunny reached into one of his many pouches and brought out a small golden bag which contained some of Sandman's dreaming dust. He brought out a pinch and sprinkled it over Jack's head. This should ensure pleasant dreams for the rest of the night. Jack's eyelids began to droop but he reached out and grabbed a handful of Bunnymund's fur.

"Don't go, please." The words were barely a whisper but Bunnymund understood.

"I won't."

Jack smiled as his reality drifted away into dreams.

Bunnymund sat and stared at the young immortal. How long had Pitch been silently torturing him? Why didn't Jack have the sense to come to them when it started? Didn't he trust them? He decided to a serious talk to the other Guardians about the nightmares and the apparent trust issues. He was sure that they would find a solution for the problems at hand, but for now he had a child to watch over.

Jack slept peacefully for the remainder of the night.

He didn't let go of Bunnymund's fur the entire time.


	2. Chapter 2 - Sickness

Jack woke up and felt that something just wasn't quite right. He didn't know how why, he just didn't feel quite up to today. After about twenty minutes of tossing and turning, Jack decided that it would be pointless to stay in bed when he couldn't sleep. The Guardians were all at the table when he got there; North was at the head with Bunnymund to his right and Tooth on the left. Sand floated in his seat next to Bunnymund. North must have just said something funny, because Tooth burst into laughter while Sandy clapped and Bunnymund even smirked. Jack was finding it hard to concentrate. He made it to the table and ignored all conversation. He didn't feel at all hungry, so he just sat there poking at the bowl of cereal without much interest, eating less than half. Not even his beloved iced coffee could perk his mood (it was a special treat that North let him have; the others thought that it was iced chocolate). He didn't feel right; he was felt too hot, even clammy. He didn't like it. The others were chatting away merrily but Jack didn't care that they weren't talking to him, even if Tooth had tried. They had learned that if he wasn't in the mood to talk then nothing would make him.

Jack pushed his chair away from the table sharply, stood up and turned away, preparing to leave.

"Jack, where are you going?" North questioned. It wasn't like him to not finish his food, he was usually asking for seconds by now.

"Nothing, I just don't feel hungry." And with that, Jack walked slowly from the room. He didn't feel well at all. He shakily made his way to his room, collapsing on his bed. His whole body hurt, every muscle in his body ached. He curled into a ball, he felt hot and icky. He tossed around in bed, turning this way and that; nothing seemed to make the feeling go away. He didn't know how much time had passed. Slowly his aching limbs pulled his mind into sleep.

A sick feeling in his throat woke him up. Like something vile was stuck there. It began to rise. Jack stumbled from his room and rush in what he hoped was the right direction. He rushed through the bathroom door and fell on his knees in front of the white porcelain bowl just as his stomach heaved.

Bunnymund didn't usually give Jack much thought, though he had made an effort to try to be nicer after the nightmare incident. But his behaviour at breakfast had been puzzling to say the least. He hadn't talked to anyone, not even to greet them, and he hadn't finished his sugar coated cereal (why North let him eat that stuff he didn't know, Jack was hyper enough as it was). Once again Bunnymund found that annoying little instinct (the one that made him stay by Jack's side through the night) was making him worry about the cause behind the young spirits' behaviour.

His little niggling feeling got the better of him and he decided to check up on the boy, if he could find him. He figured that Jack's room would be a good place to start, after all, Jack had been spending a lot of his time in his room. Apon finding that Jack was not there he took a proper look around. North had been helping decorate it after Jack had decided to stay for long periods of time; like summer, spring and early autumn when he didn't have serious work to do. Jack would, of course, leave for ventures around the globe every week or so (he still refused to be restrained by anyone), but he always came back. Jack's room was decorated with the things he liked he most, winter, snow, ice and frost. Light blue walls were decorated with a layer of glittering white which blended into the blue. North had used great skill to make the floor look like a frozen lake, complete with scratches from ice skaters blades. Details had yet to be perfected of course; progress was being made to make every piece of furniture, from the bed and wardrobe to the window sill, look like it had a layer of snow on it. Jack had added some personal touches as well; real frost glittered on the window panes. It was really quite impressive. Leaving the room he strolled down the hall, pondering where Jack could be. He stopped about ten meters from the bathroom when he was alerted to the sound of retching.

He rushed to the door and forced it open to find Jack kneeling before the toilet heaving, having already lost what little breakfast he'd had. Bunnymund just stood there for a few seconds, shocked. Then rushed to Jack's side, kneeling on the floor beside him and wrapping his arm around the heaving boy, pushing the hair out of his face. After a few moments of dry retching Jack stopped. Bunnymund grabbed a towel from the sink for Jack to wipe his mouth with.

"How do you feel?"

"Orrible..." Bunnymund pressed his paw against Jack's forehead, he was room temperature. This wasn't good; Jack's body temperature was usually ten degrees at most, to have it this high was a worry.

"Come on, mate. We need to get you to North." After pulling Jack to his feet, he gave him some water to wash his mouth out with. Jack leaned heavily against the Guardian as they made their way to North's workshop. It was the one place North was bound to be. Along the way Bunnymund pressed Jack for answers.

"Tell me how you're feeling now."

"Hot, dizzy, sore, tired." Jack was defiantly sick.

North was tinkering with some train parts when he heard the door open but didn't look up.

"North?" North turned around at Bunnymund's voice.

"Ahh Bunnymund, what can I do for y..." He trailed off when he saw Jack slumped against the Easter Bunny. His chair tumbled backwards as he rush towards the pair.

"What on earth happened to him?"

"He's sick, I found him throwing up in the bathroom. He's also got a temperature." North put his own hand against Jack's temple and sure enough, he skin wasn't nearly as cold as it should have been. North looked to Bunnymund for advice, if anyone in the North Pole knew what to do with sick children it would be him. North felt the need to make the sickness go away immediately, but he didn't know how.

"We need to get him back to bed, he can rest and sweat off the fever."

It had been four days since Jack had first gotten sick, and it had only gotten worse. He threw up anything that he ate or drank which wasn't doing anything for his health. His nose was completely stuffed up, making it hard to breathe, and his temperature hadn't gone down. To add to that, restlessness plagued Jack's nights, not even Sandy's dust could get him to sleep for more than a few hours at a time, no matter how tired he was.

Tooth was an almost constant companion; she sat on his bed next to him, letting him rest his head in her lap. Sometimes she would tell him stories of the places that the Guardians had been, other times she just sat there stroking his hair and rubbing his back. Overall she was acting very motherly. She always had teeth to collect, but her hummingbird-selves could do that, Jack needed caring for and she was determined to care for him.

The others also stayed with him. Sandy would sit and create long stories out of sand in front of Jack to entertain him. North made a point of visiting as often as he could just to check up on how he was going, he did have presents to make for Christmas and it took all year to make them all so he couldn't stay for more than half an hour at a time. Bunnymund also visited every now and then, coming from his warren especially for Jack, he would sit and tell his own stories, he was making a clear effort to be kinder to the sick child.

It had been a week since the sickness had stared. Once again Tooth was sitting with Jack while he slept. Everyone was on edge about Jack; he didn't seem to be making any progress. In Tooth's lap the boy in question stirred, yawning quietly before curling into Tooth's warmth.

"How are you feeling today Sweetie? Any better?"

"A liddle better, still bad nose but no so hot now." Tooth grabbed a thermometer from the bedside table and gently pushed it under Jack's tongue. She waited in suspense for three minutes for his reading. She pulled the thermometer out and squinted at it.

"Oh Jack, this is wonderful! You're temperature's dropped by seven degrees! You're nearly back to normal!" She clapped excitedly at the news, before leaning down and kissing Jack's temple. Jack made a face. Tooth giggled, he was truly getting back to normal.

Later, Jack felt better enough to sit up without getting dizzy. Tooth was delighted, but was still convinced that motherly love was needed so she settled down next to him to show him some pictures of the Guardians from many years ago.

Bunnymund came by later, quietly knocking on the door to make sure he wasn't waking anyone up.

"Come in!" Tooth sounded perkier than usual, this got his hopes up somewhat. Upon opening the door he found Jack sitting up against the headboard with Tooth next to him. Photos were spread across the bed. Jack looked immensely better; he had lost some of the red flush in his cheeks, which was a good thing for Jack. He looked more lively as well, not as sluggish.

"Well, someone looks better today."

"Oh, he is! His temperature's dropped seven degrees last night!"

"That's great, we'll be back to having out annoying Jack Frost back, wonderful..." Sarcasm was thick in his voice but he had a smirk on his face which let them know that he too was relieved that Jack was getting better.

Curiously, Bunnymund picked up one of the pictures. It was a coloured picture of himself sitting at his bench, completely engrossed in delicately painting an egg. Judging by the surroundings in the picture it would have been taken over 100 years ago (they are the Guardians, North has the ability to create thing long before mortals invented them). The picture made him smile. He picked up another, this time of Tooth surrounded by her hummingbird-selves in her sanctuary, smiling at the camera; in her hand she held a tooth. The picture had to be from around the same time as the last one as it was also in colour.

"What are you doing with all these?"

"Oh, I just thought that Jack would like to see what we were like in the past, each picture has a story of its own after all, why not tell those stories?"

Bunnymund scanned the pictures on the bed, there were some of all of them from all different time periods, some going back over 200 years. It felt good to know that those moments in time hadn't been forgotten.

"I'll go tell North that you're feeling better." He put the pictures back on the bed, where Tooth snatched them up and began telling Jack all about them. Jack looked fascinated. Bunnymund took his leave and left the room unnoticed.

When he walked into North's workshop the man was fiddling with the mechanics of a child's fire truck, completely absorbed. Bunnymund rapped his knuckles against the hard wooden door to signal his arrival. North turned to look at him.

"Bunnymund, what brings you down here?"

"I came to tell you that I've just been to see Jack."

"And?" North was clearly anticipating good news.

"He's feeling better today; his temperature's dropped seven degrees overnight. He looks a lot better too, not as flushed."

"That's wonderful news! I must go and see him immediately!" North was up and out the door before he'd finished speaking. He was walking so fast that Bunnymund almost had to run to keep up. When he reached Jack's room North threw open the door to find Jack and Tooth in the same position that Bunnymund had left them in, only with more pictures spread over the bed.

"Jack! You're looking much better today! How are you feeling?"

"I feel better, still bad nose, but better."

"That's wonderful to hear, I had to see you as soon as Bunnymund told me you were feeling better." Bunnymund stood in the doorway with a small smile on his lips. It was true; North had almost run him over in his rush to see Jack. North sat down in a chair at the side of Jack's bed and looked at the pictures scattered across the covers.

"I see you've been showing Jack some of our history."

"But of course! Each picture has a story and so I'm telling them. Like this one, when you got sick just before Christmas. I remember the rush as everyone panicked. There were still presents to be made and there was chaos everywhere. Luckily you got better in time to deliver the presents. I don't know what would have happened if you weren't there to do that, nobody else knows the route quite like you do." In her hand was a picture of North lying in bed looking very sick, much like Jack had been for the past week.

"That sure was one hectic Christmas, I was trying to get better as soon as I could but I only ended up making it worse."

"Things were a mess when we came in," Bunnymund cut in, "We all came in to help. We sorted the main things out but controlling the elves wasn't easy, they're used to taking orders from North but they had to take them from us and they didn't like it. We got everything ready, a bit later than they should have been done but that couldn't be helped."

Jack sat, wide-eyed as North, Tooth and Bunnymund explained about the troubles they had come across and the emotional blowouts experienced. Jack laughed when Tooth told him that once, when the elves were being a particular nuisance, Bunnymund had had a temper tantrum. Bunnymund denied that it was nearly as graphic as Tooth portrayed it to be, but didn't deny that it had happened. Jack smiled when Bunnymund told him that he'd lost count of the amount of times Tooth had flown into walls in her rush to get somewhere, or to get something delivered.

"It wasn't funny, I had so many bruises on Christmas day, I could barely fly," she huffed.

For the next few hours the Guardians continued to give their interpretations of the pictures. At about eleven o'clock Bunnymund and North were arguing over a particularly embarrassing photo of North walking around in his underwear, when Tooth shushed both of them and looked lovingly at Jack. The winter spirit was fast asleep, lulled by the sound of their voices. They all moved silently to put him to bed. Bunnymund packed away the pictures while North transferred Jack from his sitting stance to lying down under the covers. Tooth then tucked the blankets up to his chin and watched as the boy snuggled into the soft warmth. She leaned down and gently kissed his forehead.

"Sleep well my Sweet Tooth."

She then positioned herself in North's abandoned chair and sat to watch over him. North and Bunnymund both left the room without a sound.

Two days later and Jack was up and about, under Tooth's watchful eye of course. According to her, Jack still wasn't completely well yet and needed to be supervised (he probably needed to be supervised whether he was sick or not). Everyone was very relieved that Jack was fast recovering, they had all been nervous while he had been sick. They all cared to some extent for the young spirit and they hated to see him so helpless. They all played their parts to help Jack recover and were rewarded by seeing him rush through to halls with newly recovered energy. They looked out for each other, and that included Jack. He was part of their family now.


	3. Chapter 3 - Personal Hygiene

**Hello everyone! I am so very ****_very_**** sorry that it has taken me so long to get my act together and start writing again. I am hating myself for it.**

**But I have my reasons! (It's the truth!)**

**1. I was banned from my laptop for two months. Totally unfair.**

**2. I'm moving house, everything is chaos! Not a lot of time to write.**

**I'm sticking to my reasons! But somehow I managed to get through this and actually update! One point for me! (not counting the -50 points I got for not updating)**

**I will bore you no longer with my troubles, not that many of you will actually take the time to read this but what can I do. I could write anything here and most people wouldn't even notice it.**

**Now! On with the story!**

I was a pretty normal day at the Pole. It was nearly evening and Tooth and Bunnymund had decided to visit, again. If there was one thing that changed once Jack decided to make the North Pole his home it was that the other Guardians came over more than they ever had. Not that North or Jack minded their company; on the contrary, Jack always gave any Guardian that visited an attack hug. Even Bunnymund couldn't escape them.

At the moment Jack was amusing himself, much to North's dismay, by sitting on the floor and creating snowballs and repeatedly throwing them at the wall of the dining hall. Tooth flew around him on her way to see North, but stopped to do a double take at Jack. She zoomed forwards and began running her fingers through Jack's hair, closely examining it.

"Hey! Tooth, stop that!" Jack cried trying to push the fairy away but Tooth was stubborn. North and Bunnymund, who had been the middle of heated debate about the most important holiday, were now taking in the current situation with mixed expressions of surprise and amusement.

"Why is your hair grey Jack? Isn't it usually white?" Jack pulled his hair out of her grasp.

"My hair is none of your business. Let go!" Jack got up off the floor and attempted to make a break for it. But Tooth was faster.

"It that dirt? Why is there dirt in your hair?" Jack scowled and refused to answer.

"When was the last time you took a bath?" Jack's cheeks flushed pink.

"T-Tooth! That's none of your business either!" Tooth grabbed the back of Jack's hoodie and refused to let go. Bunnymund came up behind the blushing teen and examined his hair.

"It is pretty dirty, so is the rest of you now that I'm close enough. I'd also like to know how long it's been since you washed. For hygiene's sake at least." Jack scowled and his blush darkened.

"Jack, answer me. How long?" Tooth was going into what Jack now called 'bossy-mother-mode'. Jack mumbled something under his breath that not even Bunnymund could catch.

"What was that mate, couldn't quite hear ya?"

"A month."

"A MONTH!"

"And a half..."

"Jackson Frost! You are having a bath this instant; I don't know how you could stand going around for so long collecting dirt. It's just like brushing your teeth; you need to do it regularly or else it starts to show." Tooth gasped, "You have been brushing haven't you?" Jack nodded, Tooth sighed before going back into bossy-mode. "North, I need access to a bathroom close to Jack's room, towels and anything else that would be useful." Jack gave North his best pleading-puppy eyes as he tried desperately to flee, but that particular look didn't work quite so well when one was in desperate need of a wash and the person you were pleading with knew it.

"Use what you need Tooth. And don't give me that look Jack; I won't have you go about amongst the children and let them think that they can get away with not having baths. I want you back here clean." Tooth began to drag Jack away, but Jack wasn't giving in so easily. He suddenly lifted off the ground and attempted to fly away but Tooth, proving to be stronger than she looked, forced him to the ground.

"Mate, I can tell you that it'll be a lot easier if you just go with it. It's can't be as bad as you think." Jack glared at them both as he was dragged around the corner and out into the hall and disappeared from sight, struggling the whole way.

"I knew there had to be a reason why he didn't like being close to us for very long when we arrived. He didn't want us to know. North, how come you didn't notice?" Bunnymund turned to North with a raised eyebrow. North shrugged.

"He didn't let me close enough to notice, and was too busy."

A few moments of silence filled the room before Bunnymund looked at the door. "Tooth's handing me blackmail on a plate mate, I can't let that slip. I have to see this." And with that he hopped out of the room after them, leaving a chuckling North in his wake.

"You're not serious Tooth! There is no way I'm letting you do this! Let me out NOW!"

"Oh I'm very serious Jack. Now will you stop trying to destroy the door?"

Tooth was crouching next to a huge bathtub, running her fingers through that water making sure it was only lukewarm and not hot. Lukewarm was about as hot as Jack could take without getting dizzy and nauseous. Jack stood pressed against the door scowling at the world, his jumper, shirt and staff having been confiscated by Tooth. They too were in dire need of a wash.

"But you can't stay! It's not right! I'll never live this down!"

"Why can't I stay? I hate not trusting you, but I really don't think you will do it properly. You need a mother's concentration and eye for detail and dirt!" Jack glared as hard as he could at the back of Tooth's head.

"But I'm too old for you to do this, maybe if I was, like, seven. But I'm sixteen! Mothers aren't supposed to do this sort of thing once their kids are older! It's not right. I don't want you in here! I can do it myself! Get out! Get out!"

"Sweetie, I know this is uncomfortable for you, but it is necessary for me to be here in order for you to come out of this room completely clean."

"But... but... It's not fair! Let me out!" Jack banged hard on the firmly locked door, but there was no escape. Tooth sighed, this was nothing compared to ten minutes ago when Jack was throwing a tantrum so bad he threatened to break everything in the whole bathroom. There had been much attempting to explain, but Jack would have none of it. Tooth finally turned to face the scowling teen.

"You are getting in this bath." Tooth's calm yet firm tone gave nothing away but for a second Jack looked genuinely scared. "Why is it such a big deal?"

Jack scowled and looked at his bare and dirty feet muttered something. Tooth noticed a bright flush of pink across his cheeks and smirked.

"What was that Sweetie?"

Jack turned even more red, "I won't have anything on."

Tooth chuckled, so that was it. Jack was embarrassed. 'I should have known, he is a teenage boy after all, he has dignity and pride to uphold,' she thought. The tub had now been filled and the water was just right. Now all it needed was the finishing touch.

"Jack, didn't you think I would know that. That's why I found these," she said as she reached for a large bottle sitting next to her. She opened the cap and tipped a large amount of the clear fluid into the water. Recapping the bottle Tooth ran her hand through the water fast until bubbles formed. She continued, while Jack looked curiously over her shoulder, until the whole surface was covered in a layer of bubbles that you couldn't see through.

"There," Tooth smiled triumphantly, "Problem solved."

Jack didn't seem too happy about the solution, or the whole situation for that matter, but he didn't really have a choice. Tooth had used her magic to lock the door so he couldn't escape, he knew that no amount of begging, shouting or kicking was going to get her to open that door or leave until he got in, and he figured that if he didn't get in willingly then Tooth would make him get in, with or without his clothes. Jack humphed in annoyance. Why did she have to be so hard?

A staring contest ensued between Tooth's calm, composed smile and Jack's strong, stubborn scowl. This continued for many minutes until…

"Fine, but you can't look!"

Tooth chuckled again. Jack could be such a little child some times, acting just like a ten year old who wouldn't get changed with anyone else in the room. She got up and went to the corner and turning to face the wall, closing her eyes just to be safe.

The rustle of clothes was heard, along with a lot of grumbling, and was followed by a soft splash as Jack got into the bath.

"Can I turn around now?"

"No."

"Jack…"

"Not yet."

More splashing was heard before Jack gave Tooth his approval to turn around. Tooth smiled. Jack was sitting tensely in the tub with a bright blush on his face accompanied by that constant scowl, with the majority of the bubbles having been pulled around his waist. He clearly wasn't comfortable with the situation, nor was he happy about the water.

Tooth understood and respected Jack's fear of liquid water. He had every right to be afraid, especially after what had happened to him. He had drowned in a frozen lake after the ice had cracked and he had fallen through, his body had gone into shock and he had been unable to swim to the surface. But the water he was in now was barely 11 inches deep so there was no threat of drowning, not while Tooth was there with him. That was one reason for her staying that Tooth had not shared with Jack, while she was with around he wouldn't feel as threatened by the water (at least that was what she hoped for). But a fear could only be taken so far, it was getting in the way of personal hygiene now. So Tooth had taken it upon herself to make things right.

Tooth banished the plie of Jack's dirty clothes to the Pole's laundry for the Yeti's and Elves to take care of. She then knelt next to the bath and grabbed the large bowl that she had collected and dipped it into the water at the end closer to Jack's feet, then proceeded to tip its contents over Jack's head. Jack yelped and shut his eyes tight, clearly not expecting it. He pushed away from Tooth, panicking as the feel of water on his head brought back painful memories of drowning.

"Tooth! Don't do that!" Jack opened his eyes and glared from beneath his wet mop, which had flattened across his head and flopped over his eyes.

"I'm sorry Jack; I needed to get your head wet. I promise to tell you when I'll do that from now on, okay?"

Jack grumbled and reluctantly sat still, pulling more bubbles around his waist. Jack couldn't remember anyone being motherly to him before Tooth, which was probably the reason why he had given in instead of holding his ground for the next couple of hours like he would in any other situation. Tooth was like the mother he couldn't remember, and right now she was holding a bottle that Jack was becoming rather suspicious of. A sudden knock on the door made both of them jump. Tooth sent a confused look at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me Tooth. I got what ya wanted so let me in."

Jack blanched at the sound of Bunnymund's voice and stared in horror as Tooth got up from the floor and moved to unlock the door.

"Tooth! Don't you dare let him..." Jack's indignant cry stopped when the door opened and Bunnymund waltzed in carrying and armful of plush, white towels. He took one look at Jack, surrounded by bubbles and soaked, and burst into laughter.

"A right good fix you've got yourself into this time, ain't it mate?" He was still grinning when he dumped the towels in a corner. Tooth had resumed he position at the edge of the bath and thanked him for delivering the towels. Bunnymund glanced at the door and then at Jack before making a quick decision. He walked to the door, locked it and then proceeded to lean against a wall that was out of reach of any spray Jack might throw at him and settled down to watch. Jack was not impressed.

"Why are you still here? Get out! Tooth! Make him get out!" Tooth turned and seemed genuinely surprised to find that Bunnymund was still here.

"And miss out on blackmail material this good? I'd have to be nuts! Also, consider this payback for what you did in '68." He tacked that last part on when Tooth gave him a look. Jack was still not impressed. Tooth didn't seem to notice Jack's open, and rather loud, objections to the Easter Bunny's presence, or she chose to ignore it. Jack ranted about how it was unfair that Bunnymund was allowed to be and how he didn't agree to it. While this happened Tooth grabbed a bottle of shampoo and squirted a handful onto Jack's head. Jack's rant stopped as soon as this happened.

"Tooth? What are you... Tooth!" Tooth was now scrubbing her hands through his hair, frothing the shampoo until Jack's head was a ball of foam. Removing her hands, she grabbed the bowl and tipped more water over Jack's head to get rid of the suds. Unfortunately she had forgotten to give Jack any warning. Jack lashed out in an attempt to get away from the water flowing over his head, Tooth ended up almost completely drenched (something she did not appreciate) when Jack accidentally splashed water at her. Bunnymund was barely containing his laughter.

"Tooth! I told you to warn me before you do that!" Tooth's eyes widened as she realised her mistake.

"Oh! I'm sorry Jack, I forgot. Here's another one." This time Jack didn't react so violently. Tooth scrubbed Jack's hair until all the suds were removed. Jack tried to help, only to have his hands slapped away by Tooth. Apparently this was a one-woman job.

The procedure was repeated with the conditioner, minus the washing out.

"Okay Jack, while we wait for that to loosen the tangles in your hair I'm going to get the rest of you clean." To emphasise her point Tooth held up a sponge and a bar of soap.

"Ah, Tooth? I see a problem..."

"Nonsense Jack, it's just a wash."

"Toothy? I can also see flaws in your thinking. Maybe you shouldn't..."

"Enough Bunny! I will get him clean!" Both males shut up instantaneously, Tooth was not to be messed with when she was in 'motherly mode'. Content with the silence, Tooth then lifted one of Jack's arms and began to scrub.

Everything was fine until Tooth tried to clean Jack's submerged lower stomach. Jack forced Tooth's hands from under the water and refused to let them back, a blush forming on his cheeks.

"No!" Tooth blushed as well when she realised yet another mistake on her part. Bunnymund was shaking his head, a grin firmly plastered on his face.

They soon found out that Jack had no intention of letting Tooth hear any part of his body that was under the water, which included his legs. Tooth was stumped. She couldn't do it, but she didn't trust Jack to do a good enough job. But how could she do it otherwise?

"Looks like you're lost now Toothy." Tooths eyes lit up. She rounded on Bunnymund, smiling.

"Bunnymund! You're perfect!"

"Why thank ya Tooth, but what does that have to do with..." Tooth shook her head.

"Not like that. You're a guy too, you could help clean Jack!"

This took a second to sink in before...

"NO!" Jack and Bunnymund's cries were simultaneous; they were equally shocked by the proposal.

"But Bunny, I need to get him clean and you could help. It wouldn't be so awkward if you did it."

"Yes it would! I'd rather him stay filthy." Bunnymund huffed.

"Do I get a say in this?" Jack asked, "Because I defiantly don't agree either." Tooth ignored Jack.

"Please Bunny, for me? Think of it as making up for that time I helped you when you still had two thousand eggs to paint the evening of Easter Sunday." Bunnymund sent her a scowl, which she seemed to be immune to, refusing to give in.

"I can clean myself! I'm not five!"

"Sweetie..."

"No! It's bad enough that YOU are here, but I'm not letting him anywhere near me! And that's final!"

"For once, I agree with Frostbite. Why can't you leave him in peace?" Jack was shocked that Bunnymund was actually standing up for him. He sent Bunnymund a grateful smile behind Tooth's back.

Tooth tried to protest, but each attempt was promptly forced down by either Bunnymund or Jack. This was one time that he was NOT backing down. A heated argument broke out between Bunnymund and Tooth; both sides were so wrapped up in fighting that they completely ignored Jack. The winter spirit took his chance while it was there.

**10 Minutes Later**

Both sides had come to an agreement, Tooth would leave all regions below the water line to Jack while she would wash everything else. Bunnymund would be left out of the equation. Happy with their agreement they both turned their attention back to Jack. They were both stunned.

Jack stood before them, one of the fluffy towels Bunnymund had brought in was wrapped around his waist. He was practically glowing; his skin was sparkling and his hair was thoroughly washed and now shone in the light. He was simply standing there, looking up at them. He was damp, but he looked perfectly fine with that.

"It seems our problem is solved for us Toothy, Jack is now officially cleaner than I have ever seen him. That's quite an accomplishment for you mate." Bunnymund smirked at the damp boy.

"Shut it Kangaroo." The smirk dropped.

Tooth snapped out of the daze she seemed to be in and began flying around Jack inspecting his skin for any signs of dirt. Too her amazement, she found none.

"How did you…"

"I told you from the beginning Tooth! I can clean myself, now where are my clothes?" Tooth looked at the winter spirit and gave him a look that was somewhere between guilty and embarrassed.

"Um, I sent them to be cleaned by the Yeti's. I didn't expect this to be done so quickly so they won't be done yet." Tooth ruffled her feathers and looked at the floor.

"So you're telling me that I have to stand around wearing nothing until my clothes are ready?" Jack was clearly not impressed.

"You're not wearing nothin' mate; you got that towel don't ya?" Bunnymund laughed, he was clearly thrilled by the constant turn of unfortunate events for Jack.

"I said shut it Kangaroo, or I'll shut it for you. Now, I don't care who gets them for me, but I want some clothes and I want them now!" Jack's voice slowly got louder until he was almost shouting.

"Alright mate, alright. No need to get ya knickers in a knot now. Sheesh, I really wish ya had a mute button sometimes." And with that Bunnymund unlocked the door and disappeared from sight.

"Now, isn't that so much better sweetie? You're all clean now."

"Yeah mate, ya actually look like a winter sprite and not a dirt sprite." Bunnymund said with a chuckle. Jack simply glared. He wouldn't dare admit it aloud but he did feel a whole lot better after the bath. It was unusual for him to actually be in a bath; usually he just cleaned off dirt in a secluded snowdrift somewhere so there was no need for any liquid water. He hadn't been happy about the arrangements and hoped that it wouldn't happen again, but he was happy with the outcome.

"Okay. Now that that horror is over with, I believe it's about time some countries got their snow!" With that Jack zoomed out of the room, leaving only a scattering of snowflakes in his wake.

The Guardians went back to their work, North to the production lines, Bunny to the Warren, Sandy to his dream-sand cloud. But Tooth took a rare moment to reflect; the Guardians worked hard to bring joy to children around the globe, but keeping children they didn't know happy was very easy compared to the mammoth task of looking after your own child. Jack might not be theirs by blood, but he was part of their family now. Sure, he was a handful; all children were. But even when he wasn't around, it was her job, as a mother, to keep an eye on him and keep basic standards (like hygiene). And at the end of the day it was worth the struggle, because he was her boy.

Whether he liked it or not.

**Now before anyone asks, I have no idea where this idea came from. Some whacked up part of my mind created this while I was bored most likely. But I like it and it brings out the motherly Tooth and the rebelious teenage Jack (with some Bunnymund thrown in there), so I'm happy!**

**Til next time!**

**JF13**


End file.
